“It is essential to explore and promote alternative energy resources to reduce dependence on the import of fossil fuels,” Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has said.
Delivering his address at the international conference on ‘Biofuels – A Pathway towards Sustainable Future’ organised by SIAM, the Minister opined that ethanol could be seen as a sustainable solution till the time the industry moves towards complete electrification.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State, MoEF&CC, noted that the Government of India is committed to attaining a non-fossil energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 and further reducing its projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030. Moreover, a successful ethanol programme can save India foreign exchange to the tune of INR 30,000 crore per annum, he added.
Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM, CEO & MD, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, said, “Biofuels like ethanol offer a pathway towards a sustainable future which includes clean air and less dependence on imported oil, thereby supporting a more Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
Notably, the Government of India has mandated SIAM to take promotional measures for ethanol in the country jointly with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) as a transportation fuel.
Organised as a part of year-round activities to promote ethanol, the programme witnessed participation from automotive industry experts, Government officials, academia, and other stakeholder associations, including the Ambassador and experts from Brazil.
Vikram Kasbekar, Executive Director, Hero MotoCorp, gave a topical presentation on the different ways the Indian automobile sector is gearing up for changes due to biofuel adoption. Additionally, he focused on the customer experience in the ecosystem of multiple fuels and decarbonised mobility.
While presenting his views, Dr S S V Ramakumar, Director – R&D, IOCL, laid down the contributions and responsibilities of oil marketing companies in adopting low-carbon fuels. He also emphasised the information dissemination required to realise benefits for the farmers in the biofuel economy.
Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated that with the efforts made by Government and energy industry stakeholders, the existing installed capacity of molasses-based distilleries has reached 426 crore litres and is likely to reach 1200 crore litres for the effective target of 20% blending in gasoline.
The highest level of the Government is driving India’s ethanol blending programme. The important deadlines decided for pan India implementation of E-20 are 2023 for vehicles to be material compliant and 2025 for vehicles to be fully E-20 compliant.
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